Nov. 12, 2009
Contact:
Andrea Jones, 404 413-1351
University Relations
ATLANTA - Georgia State University this week launched an ambitious faculty hiring initiative to recruit 100 additional faculty members to the university over the next five years.
The goal of the Second Century Initiative (2CI) is to build internationally recognized scholarly strength in research themes with national significance to enhance GSU's quality, interdisciplinary richness and competitiveness.
President Mark P. Becker said the 2CI will build upon existing strengths to attract internationally recognized scholars to Georgia State.
"Georgia State University's reputation and prominence continues to rise," Becker said. "This initiative will accelerate collaborative faculty research to support the expansion of new knowledge, scholarship and research activities."
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Risa Palm said hiring additional faculty members is a key component in bringing GSU to the next level.
"We need more faculty to permit us to compete with the best in scholarship, research and creative work. This program will permit us to add key faculty to units with existing strength and to explore new areas of collaboration." We hope to achieve a significant increase in our level of competitive, federally funded research, and elevate GSU's overall recognition for excellence in research, scholarship and creative work."
The Provost will oversee the 2CI, and it is structured as a competitive proposal process for recruiting clusters of faculty around defined themes, as well as for recruiting individuals with the demonstrated capacity to have a high impact in scholarship.
The provost will provide financial support for the hires. Proposals will be reviewed in March and funding decisions will be made in April. The first wave of hiring will take place during the next academic year, with the first cohort of faculty hired under the 2CI joining the university in 2011.
To find out more about the Second Century Initiative, please visit: www.gsu.edu/secondcentury.